Friday, June 28, 2013

Bobby "Blue" Bland, 1930-2013

I was astounded the first time I saw Bobby "Blue" Bland. I don’t recall many details about the performance at his co-headlining appearance with B.B. King at the Uptown Theater in in 1979 or 1980. It was the composition of the audience that surprised me. I was one of just a few white people at the show.

Even a surly teenager from the suburbs could recognize that Bland’s music was universal. Yet aside from his appearances at festivals, the six or seven Bland concerts I attended were barely integrated even after the blues boom of the mid-’80s reacquainted white audiences with the form. I still fail to comprehend why- unlike his longtime associate B.B. King- Bland never crossed over to a mainstream audience.

Bland’s presentation- squall and all- was impeccable. He always carried a large band. Maybe Bland’s health stood in the way. Even back at that show at the Uptown over thirty years ago, Bland seemed frail. In spite of the physical challenges he faced, Bland never failed to deliver. Even his final Kansas City appearance at the 2011 edition of the Rhythm & Ribs Jazz & Blues Festival was solid. I envy those who saw him in his prime.

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My review of Widespread Panic’s concert last weekend has displeased a lot of people.